Manage your subscription

A familiar face is all it takes to keep sheep chilled out

4 September 2004

WHEN it comes to staying relaxed, sheep appear to act like, well, sheep. A stressed-out sheep becomes calmer if shown the face of another member of its kind, whereas a picture of a goat does little to steady its nerves.

Sheep are already known to find the faces of animals of the same breed more attractive than those of other sheep. But Keith Kendrick of the Babraham Institute in Cambridge, UK, and colleagues wanted to find out if a friendly face could also alleviate stress. They measured the heartbeats of 20 sheep, as well as levels of the stress hormones …